Victims of Walmart

[jols]

I have just looked on the web at usa minimum wages and it differs from state to state.

i am amazed at the rate.

if that was the rate here [england] no one would work. You would get more living on benefits [i think you call that welfare]

our minimum wage is currently five pounds and 52 pence which i believe to be about 11 dollars .

it is going up in october to 5.73 [11.50 dollars]

you guys need a new government.




most of the large shops in england employ part timers so thats the same as walmart.

im so glad i live here.

i really am shocked i thought the americans were well off.

seems i am well wrong.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

Jols, the American worker is in dire straits. Shrinking job markets, unfair hiring practices- here, my friend, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. And these companies do this on the backs of the working people.

Years ago, our labor unions were strong. Not so much anymore. I live in a right-to-work state, Texas, and trade unions have a tough go here.

Now, you will have folks who will tell you that labor unions are the cause of all our problems. What a crock.

Our economy is terrible. Good jobs at good wages are almost a thing of the past. And what does our government do- bail out a failed investment bank in New York to the tune of 30 billion dollars. Screw the working man- who cares if they lose their home, lose everything they have- who cares? Not this President and not this current administration.

It has taken seven short years to run this country into the friggin' ground- 7 years- that's all. Out of control fuel prices that drives a recession, foreclosures on homes the likes of which we have not seen since the Great Depression, and an unpopular war that has cost billions and billions- and soon to be trillions- it is a wonder it is not worse on the American people than it is. We have tent cities popping up all over the country, and yet, just two short weeks ago, our fearless leader gave a press conference and reassured the American people that this was just a little bump in the road. You even have folks who are setting fires to their homes now, in a desperate measure to try and collect on insurance money to stave off forclosure and being homeless and broke. As for these tent cities that are popping up around America for the homeless- many of them are being called Bushville- for good reason.

You know what, maybe if more Americans got pissed off, and I mean really pissed off, we could make a difference. I don't know.

 

[jols]

you should get pissed off.

english people are similar though we just shrug our shoulders and accept things.

i wish we were like the french they riot about everything.

my family are doing ok but everything goes up in price and nothing compensates it.

nice to have this chat with you.

it has opened my eyes

 

[Lacey Anne]

Seriously, for info on Walmart's horrible practices, from their slave labor in China to their taking advantage of governemnt funds to their so-called charitable donations and even their actual desire to drive small companies out of business, you should watch "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices." I will NEVER shop at Walmart. I don't care about how cheap they are, I won't. And I've had four in diapers. It's not worth my money going to support a chain that will be the downfall of the American economy. Americans deserve better than Walmart.

 

[Rick Waldroup]

you should get pissed off.

english people are similar though we just shrug our shoulders and accept things.

i wish we were like the french they riot about everything.

my family are doing ok but everything goes up in price and nothing compensates it.

nice to have this chat with you.

it has opened my eyes

That is funny about the French.

You are so right. Good lord, if we were like the French, putting up with this nonsense, I am sure the American people would have already stormed the Capitol in protest.

 

[jols]

by the way that pictures great.

the one at the beginning of the thread

 

[ScottS]

Oh yea and the only reason walmart does charities and donations, is because its tax-deductible.

A local non profit organization i have ties to here tried to get a donation from walmart, but were denied because it was not "tax deductible" for walmart.

Haha oh yes i do really like the photo in the first post!

 

[Sarah23]

If we were the French we wouldnt have become a free country....

I dont think their should be a min. wage. Let the market dictate wages. The government has no business telling private businesses how much they MUST pay.

 

[ScottS]

If we were the French we wouldnt have become a free country....

I dont think their should be a min. wage. Let the market dictate wages. The government has no business telling private businesses how much they MUST pay.

But dont you think that without moderation, there would be companies that would take advantage of it and pay even less?

 

[jols]

If we were the French we wouldnt have become a free country....

I dont think their should be a min. wage. Let the market dictate wages. The government has no business telling private businesses how much they MUST pay.

but then walmart would pay even less surely.

is that ok with you then

[just as i thought this conversation was finished along comes someone else lol]


the minimum wage in usa is crap though you couldnt possibly pay less

 

[Arch]

ok ok.. no more about govenments please, this thread is starting to go political. Oh and just to add... yes we get more wages in England but our cost of living is alot higher, so it doesn't make much difference.

Now back to the c/c of the image please.

 

[ScottS]

Hehe speak of moderation

 

[jols]

you got it arch.

but we were friendly about it

 

[Sun Devil Rob]

As a member of America's middle class, I still am doing ok. With the exception of a few despotic countries, being sucessful and happy boils down the efforts and attitude of the individual. Please do not confuse this with an endorsement of either political party or for that matter, Walmart. If you can't do it cheaper, do it better. If you can't do it cheaper or better, do something else.

 

[KevinDks]

One of the things I like most about photography is its ability to freeze time and to create a record of change as it happens. One day that building will be gone in some re-development project, and photographs like this will be the only evidence of how the place looked before. Is this part of a series, where the context is explored further? If not then I think it should be.

I also think the photo stands on its own as an image - I like the decay, the circle at top right where some kind of sign was fixed to the front wall, makes me wonder what this was, who worked there, what kind of people used it.